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6/30/2011 2:17PM

When Men Take Charge in the Kitchen

John Donohue, editor of "Man With a Pan," a collection of essays by Mario Batali, Stephen King and others about the ups and downs of being a father who cooks, talks with WSJ's Jeff Trachtenberg about how the book came together and why more men are moving into the kitchen.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

I ... I this gesture converge on the book published report in The Wall Street Journal ... here today with John Donegan ... to the editor of the hot new book called me and with the pain ... John thanks for coming ... Jeff thanks for having ... me be toppled about this phenomenon of men getting into the kitchen media in which a book actually start ... what are the talk about some six years ago in concept when it first became apparent a nicer cooking a lot for my family ... we had our first child and I reacted to the ... join panic of the new parent by running into the kitchen and starting to cook ... and I looked around and sell a lot of my male friends according to them because I work in publishing many of them happen the writers and the idea for the book was born ... specialty that we use of trainees a cookie giving back reading cooking I didn't ... have always cooked all my life ... cook for myself and ... always been hungry and were seen alive ... on ... and I'm a dual short order cook in high school and college and after thing but ... billion self taught art at the market and that everything and ... was able just to get from that level block and you ... have a block called standstill dad dot com weblog about the cooking and apply went into daughters ... and now ... this is the name of Panda which is a question of our recipes but it's really ... up its buy rating because this collection of essays by famous race the change in Harrison people Mary of recalling ... how we ... we able to track these people ... the interesting thing was I just had to ask them ... I think ... in the case of men cooking they don't often get a chance to tell their story ... and these men went to Aston of very enthusiastic about talking the third time in the kitchen is very ... easy in that regard it as a surprise ... did they know you blind ... no la bond was fairly obscure ... this is something I did my own and Dom ... they were just interested in ... writing about the Vimal Cook Mark to ask is good example when I approached him ... he ... he realized he'd never ... been involved a woman who could talk ... all all is like you know is dated limited and the company's options Opel why is that what was that mean the money went wandering Essendon ... citizens TV inspired because ... they seem to be any number of could just win and no ... from TV ... who maybe ten years ago we wouldn't pay any attention to ... no I did my inspiration was ... justified at what other men are doing in the kitchen ... see how they do it really when I started about six years ago I was looking for advice and were no books talking know what it's like to be a man in the kitchen so I went out and in one of the publishing spirits to sell your book was published as a paperback original I believe that ... and published in maybe just a vessel it's faster ... it is a bit any change in terms of a meal you're getting your people your interim ever since you of ... your book so taken off ... when looking into the book reaches a wider audience at ... my goal is to get more men to call them when people see the book talk about the book more likelihood ... of a likelihood that more metals company ... I don't really get we were also busy everyday No was working day and I ... really should ... cooking we should continue to reschedule what we have choices in our lives and ... we can decide what to do with ourselves ... in regards to what we and so we can decide what to think about it and then distiller take outwitted home or we can decide on a Sunday night ... for some nationalistic about this for ten minutes and a little shopping ... and plan something Sony Kumho on Wednesday the something in your ... refrigerator to cook in a ... summary the new plan that we ... will we get ahead of time oh yes there is that um second World War general and Omar Bradley who said on ... managers discuss a strategy professionals discuss logistics ... it's all about planning ... getting a material in their ... stock your pantry knowing which can make when you come home tired from or CNIL ... in my head and then to keep a good shopping list and ... looking to from cookbooks the nice thing about now with a painter's eye oust all the Raiders ... to recommend books that inspire them so even if you're an experienced cook ... then you go to the book ... you may learn about Ops obscure titles are other books that you know Bowden and consumption from the ... city this is some larger Koeltl trend unfolding here ... insurers the name ... of ... trying to make their mark oh absolutely I mean there's rain has been a ... big shift in last couple generations of women going into the workforce are now more women in the workforce demand because of the recession ... and men are usually the last to find out about anything ... so ... there's really nobody in the kitchen ... women have left it ... and the processed food industry the restaurant business to take the business that has taken over ... our waistlines have suffered a health has suffered ... our wallets offer ... the more people get back to the kitchen the better will be unmanned can be the people doing the kids and I think you know she has some helpful tips for you dads who might one are ... bringing into my twenty get into the kitchen when you start well ... he should think about it the way he thought about learning how to ride a bicycle ... but first it's really scary ... you don't added in a bouncy don't think you can do it ... depended on it and you learn a bounce in Western out about them is going to take a bicycle anywhere ... thinking about cooking a little more scary than doing it it's actually not that complicated ... and ... giving it ... a suggestions on where people might start when to start with on ... does the public and primers and Bob Sloane has a good ... cookbook called as first reported that they cannot ... remember the exact name of it but ... there are books like that out there that are good resources ... and an Asian summit of the roast chicken roast chicken is a great ... dish you really can't mess up and it's not very labor intensive than you make a lot of people have ... given their recipe in your book ... that every recipe in my book is the Peter Kaminski Skoal risk out ... looking for to China and a ... allergic Allessi talking about the whole won the big one you know I'm a city Southern really number of Macau the Cadillac's ice cap ... he have a ... plan for sequel ... that and things are in the works were considering different things ... thank you very much a ... exports has been Jeff Trachtenberg The publisher reported The Wall Street Journal John Donoghue ... editor of men with a bad ... idea ...